Naruto: Little Things
by Minato James Kirito
Summary: It's the little things in life that make the biggest differences. Right after Naruto graduated from the academy, the third Hokage took Naruto on as his student to a point in time where Jiraya arrives to take over. With two of the greatest shinobi of his era training him: Naruto becomes a force to be reckoned with. But if that wasn't all, a voice in his head gave him a unique gift.
1. Chapter 1

_**[A/N]: Heya guys! I am back with another Fanfiction of mine which in my opinion is gonna be the biggest hit out of all the ones I've written so far.**_

 _ **I have been reading a lot of Fanfiction these days and trust me when I say, "I have read lots!". I have read all the well-written stories and I have read all the loosely written stories and I hated the fact that so much of Naruto fiction is dependent on character bashing and unrealistic behavior.**_

 _ **I got really frustrated and I got the wise idea to write a fiction devoid of all that bad stuff. And so: this is gonna be my longest and most successful fiction of them all. And it will also be a fiction pairing my favorite girl in the Naruto series:**_

 _ **Naruto x Hinata! A pure Naru-Hina fiction, no-harem!**_

 _ **So, let's get started: "This story will be entirely canon except for where I don't want it to be, there will be minor changes making a world of a difference, you'll find real progress in Naruto as the story itself progresses forward into the plot".**_

 _ **With that being said, here is Naruto: Little Things, enjoy!**_

* * *

 **Naruto: Little Things**

 **Chapter: 1**

 **Title: Revelations!**

 _Twelve years ago: a nine-tailed fox suddenly appeared! It's tails lashed out, smashing mountains and sending tidal waves crashing towards the shore! The ninja rose up to defend their villages._

 _A large number of ninja stood parallel to the beast, with hate in their eyes and desperate courage in their hearts. One of the men from amongst them: A Jounin wearing a headband with the symbol of the village hidden in the leaves cried out to his companions, "Hold the attack and wait for the fourth Hokage!", and he leapt off from where he stood moments ago, to further push the attack._

" _It's getting close! Don't let it go near the village!", said another Jounin from amongst them while he threw his holstered kunai towards the advancing beast, when suddenly a huge toad appeared in midst, the trees of the forest crushed under it's immense weight. The toad had a scar on his left eye and a pipe in his mouth, on his back he had a tanto and on his head stood a man._

 _The one shinobi that faced the nine-tailed fox in mortal combat, he sacrificed his life to capture the beast and seal it in a human body, this man was known as, 'The Fourth Hokage'._

A young boy could be seen running around the village in a black shirt and bright orange pants and tied tight to his torso was an orange jacket with blue and white details. In the boy's hand was a bucket of bright orange paint. He had green goggles rested on his forehead, and in the background were two ninja running after him, both with leaf headbands, standard shinobi clothing comprising of a dark blue colored long-sleeved shirt and matching pants, and over both their shirts were green shinobi vests given to both Chunin and Jounin of the village, they both had on: similar ankle bindings and standard shinobi sandals. Based of which, the boy's chasers were either Chunin or Jounin level ninja, but considering who was in front, anyone's first guess would be Chunin, but looks can be deceiving, the shinobi who didn't believe in that saying do get it's gist after their first real shinobi encounter. To be a shinobi is to conceal and be concealed.

"You've gone too far this time Naruto!", said one of the two who shook his arm in spite. Following the man's words and considering it his queue, 'Naruto' jumped onto one of the nearest buildings and leapt onto the next and the next buildings in quick succession having the two unidentified ranked shinobi tailing him still. In the back: four faces could be seen on a mountain that had been covered in embarrassing markings.

Naruto laughed in midst his jump and made to them a declaration, "Hahaha, Give it up! You're just spent cause you don't have the guts to do what I do, do ya'? Hahaha, Losers, wannabes, you'll never catch me! Hahahaha!". He said in between laughs.

"Lord Hokage! It's an emergency!", cried a man to an elderly man with brown birth marks on his face, the man was currently working on his calligraphy on a white canvas. "I hope you're not bothering me with some trivia, and don't tell me it's Naruto again", said the elderly man in orange to the worried man in the back, giving himself a turn towards him.

"It is Naruto again! He climbed onto the great stone faces!", said the man. "He put graffiti all over the Hokage!", said another man standing beside him. The old man took a weary puff from his pipe in thought, "Hmm".

Meanwhile, Naruto was still running from the two ninja with great success! The two ninja had still been tailing him crying out his name in desperation. The two ninja head on forward towards him, and surprisingly: Naruto stood opposite to the direction they were headed, having successfully tricked them into going the other way while he hid behind a camouflaged sheet of cloth painted to look like one of the fences he was standing beside.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head while laughing at the two ninja he previously tricked, "That was too easy", he claimed as another man made his way behind him. "Oh yeah, Naruto!", a man with bulging eyes and a veiny forehead said when he put his hand on Naruto's head. The man had a pineapple like hairstyle and wore a standard shinobi garment underneath a vest and standard ankle bindings and ninja sandals. Naruto in turn, jumped in response.

"Aaaahhh!". He fell down with a scream and a thud, facing the man responsible, pointing to his face.

"Where'd you come from Iruka-sensei!? What are you doing here?", said Naruto in his defense. In response to him, Iruka pointed his finger towards him, "No, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in class".

* * *

 **In Class - Konoha Academy**

* * *

"I'm at the end of my rope here Naruto; you failed the graduation test last time and the time before that! Tomorrow you've got another chance and you messing up again!", Iruka said truthfully. Naruto just tossed his head to his side and followed it up with, "Humph".

Iruka's head popped a nerve and he looked at Naruto with irritation for a while and then turned back swiftly to the rest of the half present, half empty class. "Fine, cause you missed it Naruto-", he said pointing to the whole class, "-Everyone will review the transformation jutsu!". Iruka said, much to the students' visible displeasure, literally all the students slumped back in disappointment for having to go over that all over again because of Naruto.

* * *

"Sakura Haruno". The first up to practically use the transformation jutsu was Sakura Haruno, a pretty girl who wore a short-sleeved red Chinese-looking outfit with pink designs running around her sleeves and down from her neck to the end of the dress. Among her more prominent features were a larger forehead, green hair and pink hair that fit her name perfectly.

"Okay, Sakura here, let's do this", "Transform!", she said as white smoke covered her for a second before she successfully transformed into Iruka-sensei, still holding a seal to concentrate her chakra and hold the transformation.

Iruka nodded his head in approval, "Transformed into me?", Iruka mused for a second after which we wrote down some scores on his clipboard. "Good". Hearing his approval and remarks, Sakura jumped in joy screaming, "I did it!". Behind her, a dark background formed and a chalk outlined version of her shook her hand in joy saying, "Yes! I did it, I kicked butt!".

She then immediately turned to a student with black raven hair that spiked towards the back of his head and fell down into two separated locks at the front near his front lobe. The boy wore a blue half-sleeved shirt along with white shorts and arm-warmers of the same white color that had a horizontal strip of blue at both ends, making his clothing a perfect matching attire, going quite nicely with white ankle bindings and blue shinobi sandals. "Sasuke, did you see that?", she inquired but to no avail because Iruka cut her antics off by calling the next student in line, "Next, Sasuke Uchiha".

Sasuke walked up to Iruka with the same hip demeanor and successfully transformed into Iruka. "Ehh, good", said Iruka before Sasuke dispelled the transformation technique and walked away with his hands in his pockets.

"Next, Naruto Uzumaki", Iruka called. Naruto has his own attitude up, he had his hands on his waist and an annoyed look on his face. A student standing beside him looked at him with utter annoyance. "This is a total waste of time", said a boy with a pineapple hairstyle similar to Iruka's but shorter than his wearing a fishnet undershirt over which he wore a grey short-sleeved over-shirt that has green details over it, to compliment it all he had a dull brown pair of pants.

Another girl standing beside him wore a completely purple outfit that went high towards her neck and went down stopping halfway through her thigh. The piece of garment was cut from the sides that left little unseen, or would have if she didn't have bindings to use as shorts. Her outfit was completed by a pair of arm warmers which were white with purple horizontal edges. She too; looked at Naruto with annoyance. "We always pay for your screw-ups!". "Like I care", Naruto said, not even looking at her and walked towards Iruka with the same demeanor he had just moments ago.

All through this, a girl with indigo hair and lavender eyes who wore a cream, baggy jacket was looking at Naruto with a tint of redness to her cheeks while poking her fingers together, 'Naruto … Do your best', she said to herself.

Naruto made a seal to concentrate his chakra until finally, "-Transform!". A cloud of smoke covered the outline of Naruto's body and he transformed into …. A naked girl!

Naruto had transformed himself into a female version of himself standing stark naked with only clouds to cover the more intimate parts of the feminine body. The feminine Naruto winked at Iruka and gave him a kiss from afar. Seeing this for himself, Iruka stared for a while before his head shot back with a bleeding nose.

Naruto in turn: was laughing loudly at his teacher, "Gotcha', that was my sexy jutsu!". He was still laughing out loud when Iruka got up with bulging eyes and tissues in either one of his nostrils, "Cut the stupid tricks, this is your last warning!", he yelled in irritation.

* * *

 **After Class - The Hokage Monument**

* * *

Up on the great stone faces, Naruto was standing on a wooden extension to one of the faces, rubbing it clean with a piece of cloth in his hands. "Loser", he murmured it to himself, but Iruka caught on to what he was saying due to the silence around the area.

"You're not going home until you've cleaned every single drop of paint", Iruka said commandingly to Naruto who had his head down in a way that his eyes' shadow hid his eyes. In a saddened tone, he said, "So what, it's not like there's anyone waiting at home for me!". He then went back to the cleaning he was supposed to do.

Iruka stared at him for a while before finally speaking up, "Hey Naruto?", he said in the usual commanding tone. Naruto looked at him with annoyance, "What you want now? Sensei", he mocked. Iruka brought his hand up to his chin, "Well, I was thinking-", he mused. "-Maybe after you've cleaned this all up I could take you out for some ramen, the good stuff, what do you think?", he said while scratching his nose.

To Iruka's previous statement, Naruto beamed up with excitement, "Ah!", he gasped in surprise. "Now that's some serious motivation! I'll have this cleaned in no-time", he said as he got to excessive cleaning, wanting to get it done to get his hands on some ramen.

* * *

 **Ichiraku Ramen Stand**

* * *

Naruto and Iruka sat at a bar comprising of five seats and a desk in front. The two sat side by side enjoying ramen when Iruka decided to break the silence. "Naruto", Iruka said, watching Naruto slurp his noodles with incredible speed. "Mhmm", was all Naruto could say in between his slurps.

"Why would you do that to the Hokage faces?-", he said while shaking his hand in an explanatory manner. "I mean you know who the Hokage are, don't you?", he added.

"Of course I do, everybody knows", he said between slurps, finally finishing the bowl. "They were the greatest shinobi of their time right? The best of the best? Undefeated ninja champs. And the fourth Hokage was the one who saved the village from the Nine-Tailed Fox, he was the most amazing", he said in all seriousness.

Iruka listened to Naruto with astonishment, "Then why did yo-", before he could continue, Naruto caught on and went on to explain. "Because I'm going to be better than any of them, me, Naruto, the next Hokage!", he declared, pointing his chopsticks to Iruka. "A ninja legend!". Iruka looked at Naruto with surprise, but let him continue. "Then everyone will have to stop disrespecting me and look up to me, believe it!". He stopped for a while after that, "Ahn, by the way, I kinda wanted to ask a little favor, sensei", he said pleadingly with his hands up.

"You want another bowl?", Iruka said in a deadpanned expression. "Un, un. I wanna try on your headband, c'mon please?", he said with his hands joined together. Iruka looked up at his forehead to his headband, he adjusted it while looking at it, "This? No way, you can only wear a leaf headband when you finally graduate from the academy and become a ninja, you've got to pass the test tomorrow", he said.

"That is so uncool!", Naruto yelled. Iruka laughed at his antics, "Is that why you took off your goggles?", he inquired. "Aaah, I want another bowl", Naruto said in irritation.

* * *

 **Graduation Day - Konoha Academy**

* * *

Iruka stood in front of the class with a sheet of paper in one of his hands and had his other hand behind his back. "We will now start the final exams, when you name is called, please proceed to the testing room, the final test will be on, the clone jutsu", he finished. No one else except Naruto showed any signs of stress, they were all calm save for Naruto who held his head in dismay, 'That's my worst technique! Great! I'm never gonna pass!', he thought to himself.

Iruka and Mizuki sat a chair apart from each other behind a desk on which several dozen leaf-headbands were placed neatly. Opposing the desk stood Naruto with a serious face, 'Okay, get it together Naruto, you can do this, believe it', he thought while calming himself. He closed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, 'I know that I tried my best on the last two times I gave the exam, this time I'm not taking any chances, I'm gonna use as little as I can to make as many as I can, if this fluke is right, I will pass, believe it". Bearing that thought in mind, Naruto concentrated to the best of his abilities and calmly pressed his hands together.

Knowing that he shouldn't store up chakra this time, he drew out a short stream of chakra and imagined it in the shape of ten of his own selves, having done that, Naruto didn't leave himself storing chakra too long and in a matter of short splits of a second, he let go of that stream around him, "Clone Jutsu!", he yelled in accordance. Shortly after; he was surrounded by a puff of smoke, which ultimately dispersed and made his surroundings easier to see.

For a few seconds, Naruto didn't hear any remarks from the two teachers evaluating him, he had already feared the worse and had tears contained in his eyes, which he had closed shut tight. Naruto could feel the tention in the air and the sound a chair towards where Iruka was sitting, acknowledging him getting up. Naruto couldn't hold back his tears for much longer, which was obvious because his eyes had water in it's corners. Naruto's heart beat faster and faster, and he got more and more nervous hearing Iruka's footsteps as he walked towards him. Naruto couldn't see his face, but he didn't want to either, he didn't want to see his face breaking the sad news to him.

Naruto then allowed his tears to fall freely down his face. He hung his head down and sobbed openly because of his inability to hold it back anymore. But just then, Naruto felt a hand on his head; it was his teacher! Iruka-sensei. He could feel the hand ruffling his hair. Naruto opened his eyes to Iruka who was smiling at him with joy of his own, he could tell by his facial expressions that Iruka-sensei was proud of him. Naruto looked at one of his sides and saw a horde of twelve perfect clones in a row, he then took a glance at the other side and saw twelve more clones: All perfectly executed!

He then turned his attention towards Iruka, and let his tears fall down in another volley of streams. Iruka gave him a smile and held up his hand and gave him a thumbs up, "Congratulations, Naruto, you pass with an A-Star", he said with a proud look on his face.

Naruto's eyes, once again welled up with tears and he tackled Iruka to the ground, embracing him in a hug. Naruto dug his head on Iruka's shoulders and began crying on it, but for a moment Naruto looked at Iruka with tears, "Thank you sensei, thank you for everything you've done for me, I won't let you down, I'll be the best Hokage this village has ever seen, just you wait, I'll show them you were right for trusting me", he declared. Iruka watched Naruto dig his head right back onto his shoulders.

"I know you'll be a great shinobi one day Naruto, I'm proud of you", Iruka stated while he looked at Naruto fondly. This was what Iruka wanted for Naruto, to be a splendid shinobi.

He was like Naruto in a way, he never knew the love of a mother or a father, they were both orphans who lost their family to the incident twelve years ago. But little did they know, the third Hokage sat in his private room, hovering his hands above his crystal ball: observing the test as it progressed, and began to look at it fondly when he saw the moment Naruto had with Iruka. "You have yet to go a long way Naruto, but for performing so well, I will have to give you an alternative to that technique, I think I know what went wrong the last two times, until then, celebrate, my boy", he mumbled to himself.

* * *

 _ **[A/N]: Alright, that about wraps up the introduction to my newest story. If you liked what you read, please review, favorite and follow this story to show your appreciation and I will do my best to write the next chapter swiftly and I'll be sure to make it longer and all a few of my twists along the way. If you have any critisism, make it constructive and I will be sure to fix my mistakes in the next update, until then, take care!**_

* * *

 _ **-Usman**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**[A/N]: Hello, guys this another chapter of, "Little Things". I really hope this fiction gets wind soon, I think people loved, "Red and Black", more than this carefully written and plotted fiction.**_

 _ **But in any case, thanks you reviewer for the first review I've gotten so far, and yes I think I will continue this further and hopefully get it to epic length soon. I think a lot of you were put off because of how I made the fiction out to be, or rather the persona I chose for Naruto, but It'll only get better.**_

 _ **Anyway, without furthur ado, lets continue with Chapter 2 of Naruto: Little Things.**_

* * *

 **Naruto: Little Things**  
 **Chapter: 2**  
 **I'm A Genin!**

* * *

 **Hokage Tower**

* * *

An old man stood on top of the Hokage building with a camera in front of him and an annoyed look on his face. He held his hand out in question, "Listen kid, you sure you want me to take your picture like that?", he spoke to Naruto who sat in front of him, waving his hand in annoyance. "Yea! C'mon already, c'mon!", said Naruto with a lack of patience.

The old man shrugged off his antics and got behind the lens, "Urgh, just don't blame me later", he said as he draped the black cloth behind his head. He held up a button in his hand, "Say, 'Cheese'", he said while pressing the button in his hand. As soon as he pressed the button, a bright flash of light focused on Naruto who was covered in paint and spirals, holding his hand out and making an intimidating look.

* * *

 **Konoha Academy - A While Later**

* * *

Naruto sat on a chair placed 7 feet away from a counter where a shinobi sat with piles of profiles of the different genin that came before Naruto, beside him sat the Hokage, in whose hand was Naruto's ninja profile and in his mouth was his trusty pipe.

 _ **NINJA REGISTRATION FOR: NARUTO UZUMAKI**_

 _ **Profile:**_

 _ **Hobby: Pulling pranks.**_  
 _ **Favorite Food: Ramen, expecially miso ramen.**_

 _ **1). Registration Number: 102607**_  
 _ **2). Date of Birth: 10th October**_  
 _ **3). Age: 12**_  
 _ **4). Sign: Libra**_

The Hokage looked at Naruto's profile with utmost concern. "Hmm, mmm". He was looking at the paper very carefully to examine everything that might have come into the boy's mind when even attempting to make such a Ninja-Bio. Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly, "At first I didn't know how to do it, it took me like, 3 hours to work it out and stuff but finally, I got it", said Naruto with a hint of layed back pride in his voice. "Like the art project on my face", he continued, pointing to his face.

"Only, cooler, he he", he said sheepishly.

Without any movement, or reaction, the Hokage sinply said, "Take it again". Naruto in response looked at the Hokage with shock, "No way!". The Hokage didn't even seem to take notice of him with his eyes closed and his stoic demeanor, "We can't accept this photo". Naruto in all his stubborn attitude retorted, "Well, I'm not doing it again!", he said looking at the old man intensely who in turn did the same.

Naruto in his frusteration, made a single handsign and cried out, "Transform!", and so he was surrounded by a cloud of smoke. When half the smoke cleared, it revealed a nearly naked girl with blonde hair and whisker marks on her cheek, she: in a slutry tone said, "Pretty please, Lord Hokage?", and briefly winked at him.

The old man looked at the woman in shock, "Huh?", he said before he realized what he saw and got a tint of redness to his cheeks right before he fell down his chair in bliss. Naruto looked at the choking old man grimly, with guilt written all over his face.

"That's the, 'Sexy Jutsu', you say?-", the Hokage said while rubbing his nose clean of blood. "-Very tricky, much too tricky, don't do it again", he said in a serious tone while still rubbing his nose preserving what little dignity he had left. Naruto rubbed his head in embarrassment listening to the Hokage's words, "-And where is your headband Naruto? You're supposed to be wearing it", he told him lecturously.

"Oh, I have it in my pocket, I don't wanna get it dirty until the orientation tomorrow", he said as he took out his headband from his pocket and showed it to the Hokage. "You want your headband in top condition but your picture in total shambles, which is the key to your missions and your career", he inquired. "Look at this picture, you can't even tell who it is", the old man said.

Naruto hung his head down in disappointment, "Well-", he said dejectedly, "How am I supposed to know this complicated stuff anyway? It's not like I have someone to teach me", he said with cold eyes that took old man Hokage off for a moment. Those eyes were that of pain, the pain of being lonely, without a mother or father to take care of you. It made the Hokage want to do something for Naruto to help him on his journey as a shinobi.

The old man stood up from his seat and walked over to Naruto. Naruto raised his head up with the same eyes growing a little softer, seeing the Hokage move towards him. The old man bent down to Naruto's level and gave him a warm smile, "Come with me Naruto, I'll get you properly outfitted and ready for your journey as a ninja". And gone were Naruto's cold eyes, replaced by the warmth of the love the old man had for him, and Naruto was excited, because if anyone knew the needs of a shinobi, it would be the Hokage!

"Thanks old man! Where are we off to first?", he asked in excitement. The old man looked at Naruto once more before moving to the edge of the room towards the balcony. "First, let's do something about your hair, that long mess will only get in the way", he said as he jumped to the boundary of the balcony and gestures Naruto to follow, and just after that he jumped off to the nearest building and started hopping away.

Naruto: Not wanting to lose; went after him in hot pursuit yelling at him to slow down but for naught.

* * *

 **A Few Hours Later - Naruto's New Look**

* * *

Naruto stood once more in Konoha's academy properly outfitted with a blank ANBU-style shirt and pants along with it, followed by which he wore a body armour similar to those of the ANBU Black Ops. The cuffs of his shirt were neatly folded and his pants had a kunai holster strapped onto the right leg, he wore black gloves with a plate on the back with the insignia of the Hidden Leaf carved on it. His headband was altered to a black version of the standard blue headband. All in all, he looked well and professional. Even his haircut was short from the sides and longer from the front which he neatly spiked up and over to the right.

The Hokage took a puff from his pipe and inspected Naruto's finished look. 'What a change this is, after all that, who would have known that Naruto was quite the handsome young man'. The old man smiled at Naruto, "Naruto my boy, you do indeed look like a true ninja", Naruto in turn, inspected his attire, looking at it with awe.

"This really looks amazing", Naruto said in disbelief. "Hey old man, I feel so confident in myself, but I can't help but feel weak", he said while gripping his hand tightly. "To be honest, after all that you have shown me today, the shadow clone technique is the only real jutsu I have in my arsenal, compared to Sasuke, I just can't compare, and it makes me feel so helpless", he said while closing his eyes tightly, remembering what happened today.

* * *

 _ **Flashback - Same Day - Konoha Training Ground 5**_

* * *

Naruto and old man Hiruzen stood parallel to each other in a grassy plain surrounded by a forest acting as a boundary. Naruto looked beaten and battered as he was, his jacket was completely ripped and his pants weren't holding off very well at all, his hair was well cut but even that was getting out of place. Naruto was panting hard, trying to catch his breath hard, when all of a sudden he shot a smile towards the old man, "I did it old man, I learned the shadow clone technique".

Hiruzen gave Naruto a proud smile, "You sure did Naruto, you did mighty examplary".

"It's getting late Naruto, and we still have much to do, let's get going, that's enough training for today", the Hokage said, turning away and walking in the opposite direction, gesturing Naruto to follow. They walked on for quite a while before they saw a figure ahead, Naruto recognized the figure as Sasuke. He looked like he was in just as bad of a shape as Naruto, he jumped up into the air and shot a chain of kunai towards five different targets scattered in front of him, all of them landing perfectly in the middle, and on his decent, Sasuke went through a couple of hand signs and heaved his breath and puffed his chest, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!", he yelled as a huge ball of fire erupted from his mouth upon exhailing the chakra he stored in his lungs.

The fireball quickly found it's way to a practice dummy and successfully burnt it into nothing and effectively setting a bit of a tree on fire. Sasuke in his weary state went to his knees and punched the ground beneath him and muttered something to himself before he shakily got up to a bucket of water he kept with him and put the fire out responsibly. He quickly holsted a kunai from his pouch and lunged forward at the tree, slashing it in various quick strikes.

Naruto and the Hokage watched him go on and on, before the old man decided to leave Sasuke to his devices. 'He has motivation, he works hard no doubt, but that anger of his will serve him wrong', he calculated. "Come on then Naruto, we have much to do". He said, tugging on Naruto's hand who seemed to be inspired by the way Sasuke was training, and to be honest, Naruto never trained like that a day in his life, yet Sasuke was right there doing so well, and what's more is that he knows so many cool jutsu.

* * *

 _ **Flashback End - Konoha Academy**_

* * *

The old man took notice of Naruto's drive and concern about how his fellow Genin was progressing and leaving him in the dirt, and for some obvious reasons, Naruto reminded the old man so much of Jiraya. Ah, those were the days, Tsunade, Jiraya and Orochimaru: His legendary team, it meant so much to him even though the majority of it was spent during the war. Looking back to how much things were changed back then from the way they are now. Oh, how he looked content when he thought of Jiraya. In the worst time of the village, Jiraya really came through for it.

Jiraya put all his personal feelings aside, he even left Naruto in my care instead of being there for him all to make sure the Hidden Leaf Village didn't seem weak after the Nine-Tail's attack twelve years ago. And with Tsunade gone and Orochimaru rogue, the village is not what is used to be if it weren't for Jiraya. He holmed his skills, he took on missions as hard as he could handle on a regular basis all while keeping his eyes and ears open about the happenings in other villages and their plans for the Hidden Leaf Village.

Jiraya is a hero of the village, and he was sure that one day, given the proper commitment to him; Naruto too would be like Jiray- No! Even greater than Jiraya. 'I know that when you return Jiraya, you too would want to be a part of the reckless decision I have made, but until then, I'll prepare him thoroughly', he thought to himself as he took a drag out of his pipe, exhailing it into the atmosphere.

"I know how you feel Naruto, and I think I have a solution to your problem. How would you like to be trained by me?", the old geezer asked in all sincerity. He was sure Naruto deserved this and if Jiraya can make that big of a sacrifice, then he could do this one little thing to make sure Naruto becomes a splendid shinobi.

Naruto's face was beaming with bright expressions all over his face as soon as he heard the old man say that, and to be honest he really didn't expect the Hokage of all people to train him. "Really! You'd do that old man?", he asked being unsure of whether it was true or a tricky prank of some sort. "Yes Naruto, I'm sure it will benefit you greatly, after all, I am the Hokage", he said with a hint of pride in his voice.

Naruto was nearly drooling with excitement, eyeing the Hokage as if he were a piece of delicious meat."So when do we start?", he asked in enthusiasm. The Hokage took the chance to pop his bubble and gave him a smile, "Tomorrow afternoon just after you're done with your missions".

Naruto was now even more excited than before, and in this state he asked the old man a question, "What are you gonna teach me, huh old man? Is it a super cool jutsu like the fireball jutsu? Are you gonna teach me to spit fire out of my mouth? What is it!?", he asked while grinning like an idiot. The Hokage merely gave him a smile and shook his head, "No Naruto, from tomorrow the end of the week we'll be working on getting you physically stronger and faster, more so than Sasuke-", before Hiruzen could continue though, Naruto jumped him with another question.

"Now that's what I'm talking about sensei, I can do anything you throw at me, believe it!", he said with determination on his face. Hiruzen thought to himself, 'At least he has the proper motivation going, so he does think of Sasuke as his rival, that will prove handy in my training', he mused. "Ah, but there's a catch Naruto, in order for me to accept you as my student you'll have to pitch in one hour for your studies where we'll be studying the basics of chakra, how it works, how to control and how to mould it into proper shape, we will also learn how chakra can be refined into a better form to make it stronger and more reliable, contrary to popular belief, the better chakra control you have, the less chakra you'll have to use to properly execute a jutsu".

Naruto's head so far was spinning in circles, he didn't wanna spend an hour a day on that boring crap. "Do we have to old man? I mean I know you're the Hokage and all but I don't need all that to become a ninja", he said in confusion and irritation combined into conf-irritation.

"Naruto, the Hokage is a ninja who is not only adept in the ninja arts but also in how they work, you need this Naruto if you ever want to be a capable Hokage. I can guarantee that if you master the basics that I will teach you, you will have a solid foundation to work upon your skills. I'll teach you the basic theories and skills to throw kunai and shuriken, how to make them swing left or right, up or down. I will show you how to strike hard where it hurts, I'll show you the power of deception, I will teach you new jutsu-", the old Hokage stopped for a while and saw Naruto confused but interested nonetheless.

"-I will teach you how to be a _true_ ninja", he finished. Naruto looked at him with awe, he didn't know what he said just moments ago but it sounded pretty damn important, or began to sound that way to him after his last delayed sentence.

Naruto began to fill up with determination, he closed his hands into a fist and held it forward to the Hokage, "I swear on my ninja way; that I will train under you and do everything you want me to do. I will work hard, I will sweat, I will bleed and I will sacrifice for this. I will be the best ninja this village has ever seen, even better than that bigshot Sasuke, he's better than me at everything and I can't beat him, but I know if I had a family, if I had a chance, I would be stronger! I swear that I will become stronger under your training, believe it _Sensei_ ", he stated with his newfound determination.

The Hokage smiled at him before turning serious, 'I guess he's more hurt about it than I thought. Ah, but how determined he is. Seeing this side of him makes me remember his father. Oh, how he sounded just like him moments ago'. "This determination will lead you far Naruto, be prepared and be mature, from now on you're my student, and I expect you to act like it", he said strictly.

Naruto was a bit taken but be regained a bit of his composure, "I will try my best sensei, I won't prank anyone, I won't goof off and I wont lose my calm-", "-Just like you sensei", he said with conviction.

Hiruzen looked at Naruto with a smile, "Good, now rest up and be ready for your orientation tomorrow, be in your best form and do think rationally Naruto, look beneath what's obvious, look deep, take in every detail and use it against your opponent, use this to your advantage during the test tomorrow", he stated before forming a single-handed sign and disappearing in a swirl of leaves, leaving Naruto confused, but soon after he as gone, Naruto snapped out of his confusion and yelled, "What test? We already passed the graduation test! What a old coot, I bet he forgot about that already", he yelled to himself in irritation.

He quicly shoved his hands in his pockets and went on his way home.

On his way home he was deep in thought about all that happened today, he thought about all the things that they did and all the things he had been told. 'I really need to step up my game, at this rate, Sasuke will leave me in the dust. He was great in the academy but his skills today were unlike anything I've ever seen. But I have an edge over him now, I have the Hokage teaching me, I know what I have to do, I know I have to be serious now more than ever, I have ignored my training while Sasuke has been training hard all this time, if I don't catch up, he'll only go futher and further away, too far away for me to catch up, if that happens I'll never be Hokage', he thought in frusteration.

'I know I have to do it, I know I can", he thought with determination. But caught unawares, Naruto was being watched by passer-bys' who looked at him with a mix of confusion and hate. If they were to say anything to him, the way he looked was certainly catching a little attention for wearing black, but it wasn't just that, they thought he looked good. Most of them genuinely thought he looked better and mature, while others just thought the demon brat was someone who they should stay away from. Naruto's seal glew but he couldn't see it, his black outfit and the armour above it restricted the light to it's darkness. Then his mind began to play some thoughts, one's he never thought of, one that he could understand, but didn't know how he understands.

He listened to it, and he listened carefully.

 _ **It was not hate when it began, it was fear, they tried to overcome that fear, trying to convince themselves that this was the demon from twelve years ago.**_

 _ **When they knew it was not, they were grive-stricken, it wasn't their fault, in their state they were like animals. Blind, deaf and speechless. Incapable of understanding and incapable of comprehending, the worst of animals. They say that they hear, but they do not act upon it, they say they believe, when their thoughts dictate otherwise. Such is fear, it warps and binds the mind and makes the indivisual senseless and incompetant.**_

 _ **And surely for them this is a test, a test that they would fail should they keep on their current path. Life is a serious of tests and that leads to the final evaluation that determines who you are. And surely many of us and many of them have detered from the path.**_

 _ **Where they find power, they abuse it, where they find the innocent, they use them. Such is the world today, with such little honor in the world, there is no honor in dying for your beliefs, in the world we live, we die like dogs for no good reasons. After all, war isn't about what's right, war is just fighting to prove that you are right, which is not necessarily true. There have been those who used their power to pass of righteous judgement, and there have been those who rebeled against them, wanting nothing more to do wrong like the wretched animals they are.**_

 _ **But there are stories of those who are even worse than these miserable things. One day a man claimed that a gang of thugs stole all the village's gold and treasure, they killed hundreds of people, raped many of the women, and took their treasure with them. A few days later, a girl brought home a huge piece of diamond, when the elders asked where she got them, she took them to a river where all sorts of treasure was flowing in the current. The criminals didn't steal the gold because it meant anything to them, nor did they kill because they had a motive behind it, they simply did it because it was amusing to them, how people scream in pain, how they whimper an agony, how they beg for mercy, they are the truly twisted.**_

 _ **Then there are those of them who claim to be Gods, who associate themselves as partners of God, they are beyond twisted, their lust for power grew so vast, that the power they had led them to believe that they are immortal, invinible and unchallanged, but for them there is news, they are not as powerful as they believe themselves to be, because as men we all have to die, and when the good die, their destination is paradise, and for them who did wrong, for them their abode is wretched, and indeed: severe is the punishment they deserve.**_

 _ **But there are always those who stand up and fight for the weak, fight because they know that their strength is not without a cost, for with great power comes equal if not more responsibilities.**_

 _ **But in life one must be aware and everready, and more so is the life of a Shinobi.**_

Naruto was lost in the thoughts that he knew weren't his, but every word that thought progressed with: It felt so true. When he thought about how, he thought again:

 _ **What people say there are.**_  
 _ **Isn't always what they really are.**_  
 _ **What people do in public, is only what they want to portray.**_  
 _ **And such is man's mind, ever so frail, born to betray.**_

 _ **To decieve their kin.**_  
 _ **Just to save their skin.**_  
 _ **They say they serve justice.**_  
 _ **When they themselves are causes of injustice.**_

 _ **You my friend, can have this strength,**_  
 _ **So long as you, accept the terms and length,**_  
 _ **Of using this strength.**_

The poetic tone ended in his mind, but then he heard something in his mind once more.

 _ **The power for you is the power of love, you have a pure heart, but you haven't seen life just yet. Find people that are precious to you, and protect them with your life, be a fine man, don't mean ill will, forgive and forget, stay true to yourself. The power for you is the power of mind, I give this to you so you can serve your people and free them of the worst of mankind. With that I fare thee well my son, for this is where my time truly runs out, because I couldn't be there for you, because I couldn't show you love, I am disappointed, even in myself.**_

 _ **For it was a crook, and it was a being of malice, that lead to our death, me and your dad, we've both been had. That old man you have, he knows who we are and when the time comes he'll reveal what you now have. If anything I regret is that we have left without giving you love or care, life just isn't fair. But my son, do not fret, we in our time were quite the threat. Be just, be kind, find love, find friends, eat well, take care and live well.**_

 _ **Be noble, he dignified, be smart, be kind, for you are the son of the Fourth and his Wife, we did good deeds but not enough we leave to you our work undone. The ones who torment, the ones who wrong, for them are you and for you are they, enemies, Oh, bitter enemies. Those with you who fight for right, those are the ones that will keep you right.**_

 _ **Because in the end, you'll find love son, you'll find your loved ones, they'll be just ones. Your meeting with me; here concluded, thus far you understood, and you have understood, that my gift for you has already been undone. Use it well, for just and for well.**_

Those were the last of the words before the vioce receded and finally vanished, leaving Naruto with his thoughts once again. Naruto's persona changed, his aura changed and his chakra it too changed, which did not go unnoticed by the girl behind the stall who eyes Naruto from afar, following him until he reached his house where he touched the handle and gave a frown, but quickly enough he changed it to a smile.

He jerked open the door and smiled once more, "I'm home!", he yelled to an empty room. And once more, he gave a frown and with a sigh, he closed the door behind, cutting off the sight of the girl that stood behind. The girl in her sadness, wished good upon him, wishing he would get a life, where he could be happy, with her and him, together as one. If anything, today just fueled her admiration for him, but little did he know, that the girl herself, had a voice in her mind, which told her about itself and the boy she loved. The mother in turn, marked him and the girl, forever as one.

'Hang in there Naruto, I'll do as your mother said, I will become stronger to be your partner, for my father and your mother, deemed us a match, perfect for each other, I will not fail you Naruto, you have my word', she thought to herself.

There was so much going on that they did not know of, because unknown to them, the righteous were going to face a trail worse than anything they have ever faced. Unnoticed, the Five Lords were making their moves and so were the twelve guardians, the light and the dark.

* * *

 **The plot thickens my friends because here it gets a bit confusing and that won't be cleared until the later chapters where Naruto meets Minato. Although, it was a pretty decent length and I guess it was interesting at the very least. It does seem like a drastic change from where it started though. But please review, follow and favorite to motivate me to write more and more chapters. Oh and forgive me if I make mistakes because I haven't a Beta right now.**

 **Thank you, peace to you.**

* * *

 **-Usman.**


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